格萊亞別墅及水療中心 (The Griya Villas and Spa)

Quick stop over for 2 nights. First time in Bali. The place was perfect. Amazingly chill and private. Lovely staff and a gorgeous part of the world. Snorkelling spots were dope ! A few vegan options on the menu and the staff were very helpful to to get vegan options sorted out with the kitchen… Private pool and villa under the stars on a mountain with birds and dragonflies etc et. Exceptional.

No AC first night, no real solution. Slept on couch after paying $275 for the night. Rat feces on the floor. Second day it was raining and we wanted to watch tv. It took the staff 2 hours to get it working. Found a drink voucher online for two free drinks during happy hour but they wouldn’t honor it. I’m not sure why but I was tired of arguing with them. Finally, on the last day my son had an ear infection, so they called a dr to my room who charged me 1.5 million IDR. It would have been nice to have an idea of what the fee would be. Lastly, we went on a dive that morning and should have returned by noon but unforeseen issues made us late. I asked the dive company to call before 12 to say that they could remove our items from the room (they were all packed and ready) but instead they were very rude when we arrived and asked if we would be extending our stay. The manager was incredibly condescending and inflexible even though he claimed to be flexible. I did everything I could to communicate and was very apologetic even though my stay there was already less than desirable.

Amed is great for divers, but for a family getaway, perhaps not the best option. the location itself offers very poor infrastructure, no walking paths, no good restaurants nearby. However, some good temples and other attractions are nearby. As per the hotel, it should not be rated at 5* for sure. At 5* locations, you'd expect great food (the food at the hotel was very average, bland at times, and after staying for 7 days, you keep eating the same things over and over). You'd expect a 5* location to have fresh mangoes, fresh coconuts, and generally a good selection of exotic fruits (of which the island is abundant), but these could not be provided/sourced (nb: after our comment to reception, they did make an effort and bought some coconuts). the view from the villa was great, the villa itself felt very dated (old), although generally it had everything one requires. In Amed, Griya is probably one of the best hotels around, however East of Bali is not plush with infrastructure, good trendy hotels, like Ubud for example.